Unbreak My Heart (Strawberry Inn Book #4)

Chapter 1

DALTON

“McCoy!” My fire chief, Harrison Thatcher, called for me over the radio. We were in the middle of fighting a house fire on the edge of town and the exhaustion was starting to kick in. We had been here for almost a half-hour so far and it was finally starting to look like we were on the winning end. I don’t think the homeowners would feel that way, since a majority of their house is going to need to be rebuilt, but the fire was almost out and it didn’t spread to the other structures that were nearby.

“McCoy here, Chief,” I replied over the radio.

“Owner just got here, she said that their granddaughter was staying with them this week and she’s unaccounted for.”

“Fuck,” I groan. I press the call button on my radio again, “Do they know where she might be?”

“Her room was on the east side of the home, away from the fire, but lots of smoke damage. Can you and Carter check it out?”

“We’re on it, over.” I tap on Levi Carter’s shoulder, he was in front of my holding the hose. He turns back around to face me, “Did you hear the call?”

“Yeah, should we take in the hose?”

I shake my head, “Nah, we’ll be okay. Get your axe and I’ll take the extinguisher just in case.”

Our movements are quick but purposeful. Between our training and our experience fighting other fires, we know exactly what we’re doing. I’ve been working for this fire station since I was fresh out of the academy. I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years, but since Harrison moved here a few years ago the firehouse has been on an uphill trajectory. For years we had very few full-time firefighters, I was one of the few. Most of the house was part-timers or volunteer guys. I don’t know what Harrison has been able to do, but we have a full house of full-time guys now.

Carter uses his axe to break down the door on the east side of the home and I take the lead position moving into the home. There is a layer of smoke, but it is not too bad on this side. Carter and I both start to call out for the woman who is supposed to still be in the house. “Fire Department, call out so we can hear you!”

We find nothing in the first room we look in so we keep moving. We travel through a living area and then find another hallway of rooms. Carter calls out again, “Fire Rescue, Call out!” Fires can be loud, even when we’re on the other side of the house, but I hear a faint sound. I turn around to Carter and he must have heard the same thing I did. “Hear that, McCoy? I think it was on the left.”

“Yeah, I heard it. You open the door and I’ll play defense.” He nods his head and takes his position just to the left of the door while I stand to the right. He counts down and then uses the blunt end of his axe to push in the door. I enter with my fire extinguisher ready, just in case there are flames, but we just see a bit of smoke. I spot the girl in the corner of the room. “Miss, we need to get you out, follow me.”

“I can’t!” She cries.

“Are you hurt?” Carter attempts to look her over for injuries, but the girl smacks him away.

“Miss!” I use a louder voice. “We don’t have time for this. Walk out with us or one of us is going to hoist you over our shoulders and drag you out.”

She starts to cry and shakes her head, “No, you can’t make me! You were never supposed to be here, to begin with, just let me go!”

I have my suspicions about the situation at hand, but I don’t have time to deal with this shit right. We may be away from the fire, but fires are unpredictable and things can change in the blink of an eye. She might be kicking and screaming, but I throw the gal over my shoulder and head for the exit. Carter picks up the fire extinguisher and takes the lead on the way out, knowing it is his job to keep any flames from us on the way out.

Being a firefighter is dangerous and you’d think after the loss I’ve experienced in my life that I would find something else to do for a career, but it is in my blood. If I wasn’t doing this job, I wouldn’t be happy. Maybe it is selfish, but I think I still deserve happiness. I know it is risky though, which is why I never take short cuts and I’m always learning, studying, and training for every scenario to make sure I make it back home every night.

“What’s you’re ETA, McCoy?” Harrison is calling over the radio again.

“Found the granddaughter, she’s not happy and resisting a bit. We’re on our way back out.”

“The wind changed course and the flames are headed your way. Get out now.”

“Hear you, Chief. We’re on our way.” Carter quickens his pace and I do as fell. When we reach the front area again, I see what he’s talking about. Where was mostly smoke, there is now an orange glow breaking through the wall. Carter exits and I’m right there too when the granddaughter grabs a planter off the wall and hits me over the head with it. “Fuck!”

I have my helmet on, so the planter didn’t hurt me, but it did rock me enough that she was able to escape my hold and run off in the direction of the fire. I scrambled back to my feet and ran for her. She’s got a death wish, which is why I assume she didn’t want to leave the house, to begin with. It is still my job to save her.  Before she can reach the other side of the room, I wrap my arms around her and pull her back.

“Let me go!” She screams and kicks. My hold on her isn’t as good as it was before, but I am still stronger than her and use that to my advantage.

“You can hate me later, Miss, but right now we’re getting out of this house. You won’t be the reason I don’t go home to my daughter.”

Katie is always on my mind when I’m fighting fires. She’s already lost one parent in her short seven years of life, I refuse to up that number to two. As I drag her back towards the safe exit, I hear cracking. That is never a good sound. I look up with just enough time to see the ceiling getting ready to drop on us. The door is still too far, so I do the only thing that makes sense at this moment. I throw the girl to the ground and fall on top of her. I have to trust in the gear to keep us safe until the guys can get to us. 

The debris from the ceiling falls on top of us, including a large beam that lands directly on my knee. The pain is excruciating. The worst part is that I know I’m stuck, I can’t even try to crawl to the exit. Chaos surrounds the moment including the girl who is crying for help, the fire moving through the open area, and the screeching noise of my alarm system that notifies my fellow firefighters that I am in distress. 

“I see him!” The voice sounds muffled, but I know it is Harrison. He pulls off some pieces of debris until he locates me under the pile. Reaching inside my coat, he turns off the alarm system and then continues pulling things off of me. “We got you, McCoy.”

“My leg,” I strain out.

Harrison looks down and even though he’s wearing full gear I can see the way his face falls through his mask. As he directs traffic, more crew come into my view. Somebody pulls the girl out from under me. I can see some bleeding cuts, but I’m sure she’ll survive. The rest of the guys go to work on the beam that has trapped me in this room. Once the pressure is relieved, somebody pulls on my shoulders to move me out from under the beam and I’m picked up and rushed from the house.

“We’ve got you, Buddy, you’re going to be okay.” Harrison is right next to me as the paramedics on the scene begin to address the injuries I sustained. “They’re going to get you to the hospital, but you’re going to be okay.”

“Katie…” I croak out, reaching for my best friend’s hand.

“I’ll make sure she’s taken care of. Don’t worry, my man.”

Don’t worry, that’s hilarious. The only thing I ever do is worry. I knew he’d make sure she was taken care of while I was in the hospital, but that didn’t stop my worry and fear. Today was too close for comfort. 

“We’re going to give you something for the pain, Dalton.” I look up at one of the paramedics, a woman who I’ve worked with plenty of times before. I start to reply, but the medication works quickly and my eyes close before I get the chance to ask her about my leg.